


It's Nice In Nice (France)

by filthybonnet



Category: Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins Movies), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, Hannibal Lecter Tetralogy - Thomas Harris
Genre: Day At The Beach, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Old Friends, nice france
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7975000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filthybonnet/pseuds/filthybonnet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling take a little vacation to Nice, France. Their days are full of carefree beach trips, cafe lunches, shopping trips and passionate nights in their hotel. However there is couple honeymooning in Nice, Clarice's old friend Ardelia Mapp and her new husband. But Nice is a big enough resort town, there is no way they will see each other, let alone cross paths, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On The Beach

Under the cerulean blue beach umbrella he almost looked like any other vacationing older man. Almost being the key word because Dr. Hannibal Lecter kept his dignity unlike the two old men walking by both in red Speedos their skin brown looking like leather hide. _I wonder if Jame Gumb would have liked those?_ He pushed down the edge of their blue blanket before adjusting his Ray Bans and looking out towards the crystal clear water. 

The water, just like the sand, was full of people this being prime tourist season, but he could recognize her distinctive splash. How she could swim in and out and around inner tubes astounded him. She turned and came back towards the shore, more and more of her body exposed as walked with the waves. Ex-Special Agent Clarice Starling: his personal “Birth of Venus.” Water dripped down her body and the sun reflected light not only off her now blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail but as well as her white string bikini. The top covered just enough to be modest, while the bottom was low on her hips enhancing that she was fit but she had some curves. 

Hannibal licked his bottom lip before biting it. Another reason he didn’t wear Speedos, watching his Little Starling could elicit feelings the swimwear would make difficult to hide. The Good Doctor was not the only one who watched her. As she made her way back to their blanket she turned a few good heads, a few wives slapping their husbands after the fact. Clarice was far from the youngest but she was still quite the looker. Hannibal adjusted to life with a woman by his side who was constantly ogled. It all depended on the level and his mood. It was all rude by his standards, but these men on the beach were safe; gawking at a woman in a swimsuit in the right environment was not worth the trouble.

Clarice leaned over and picked up her towel off the blanket, she leered at her husband, “Those sunglasses don’t fool me, Doctor. I felt your eyes devouring me the moment I surfaced.”

He smiled at her, “They weren’t meant to fool you, Clarice. They are protecting my eyes from the sun.”

“Using my real name in public, that’s rather risky, Roberto,” Clarice dried off her body before tying the towel around her waist and sitting next to him on the blanket under the umbrella. 

Hannibal knew what she wanted next and removed the sunscreen from the straw weaved beach bag. He pushed her wet pony tail over her should before squeezing a liberal amount of creamy concoction in his hands and gently caressing it into her back. “Other world events have caused them to lose interest in me; I am not even in their top ten anymore. Besides, we are on vacation in Nice, the US hate the French right now for not supporting their misguided war.” He ran his hands over and down her shoulders and lightly groped her breasts.

Clarice instantly turned around and softly punched him in the chest, “What do you think you are doing? On the beach, you dirty old man!”

“Ahh, but I am your dirty old man,” he took her chin into his hands. 

She furrowed her eyebrows before sticking her tongue out, licking the tip of his nose, “You’re also my cannibal.” She turned back around, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen and finished reapplying. She then leaned up against The Doctor’s side, “So are you going to lose the hat and join me for a dip?”

“Maybe for a walk along water first,” Hannibal removed his hat and stood up.

“Oh you mean right now?” Clarice looked up at him.

“Yes,” He extended his hand down, helping his lady up.

Once up she planted a passionate kiss on his lips. She knew those same men were looking because despite the plastic surgery Hannibal would always look older than her. It was just a simple fact of life since he was. 

Clarice untied her towel letting it drop to the blanket, “Let’s go the opposite direction from which I swam.” She held onto her Doctor’s hand leading him around the other beach dwellers. 

However there was a new pair of eyes on Clarice. _Her face,_ he mused as he watched Clarice laugh at something Hannibal said. _I have never met her but I have seen that face so many times, if only I could place it._

It was just at that moment a woman returned casting a shadow over him, distracting him. “I got ice cream!” Ardelia Mapp exclaimed, her hair in perfect corn rows, an ice cream cone in each hand.

“Mmm, baby,” The man smiled taking one as Ardelia settled into the wood and cloth beach chair next to him.

“I might as well have been,” she licked melting ice cream from the cone. “I was the only adult in line without a child.”

“Who cares?” He placed his free hand on her thigh, “We are on our honeymoon. I am not going to let anything ruin that. And neither should you.”

Ardelia smiled as she settled back into her chair enjoying every lick of her ice cream.


	2. Two Different Rooms

Clarice adjusted the knob of the shower getting the water’s temperature to her liking before untying her bikini top and bottom letting them fall to the tiled floor. She stepped into the shower drawing the curtain around the extra-large tub. She sighed as felt the sand and salt run down her skin and down the drain. She took a step forward letting the water run through her hair and down her face. It was while under the nozzle, Hannibal silently pushed the bathroom door open, removed his swimsuit and stepped onto the slip resistant mat inside the shower. Clarice removed her head from the water stream and smiled, “I knew you wouldn’t wait your turn, Hannibal.”

“And why should I, Clarice?” He gathered her wet hair from around her shoulders and pulled it back. “There is more than adequate room in here for two. Just one of the many reasons I always get an executive suite.”

Clarice rolled her eyes.

“Want me to wash your hair?”

“That sounds lovely.”

The Doctor grabbed the special color treated shampoo she’d brought along, squeezed some in his hand and massaged it into her scalp.

Clarice closed her eyes and placed her palms on Hannibal’s thighs, “Mmm, that feels nice.”

As it lathered the suds ran down her neck, shoulders and chest. After a few minutes, Hannibal guided her forward so her head was under the spout, the suds running fast down her body. As he leaned in to help guide them down, Clarice could not help but feel he was semi-erect. 

“Hannibal Lecter,” She said sternly, yet a slight smile on her face, her palms now running up and down his thighs. “Can you not even take a shower without becoming aroused?”

He pulled her back so her head was no longer under the water but that both their bodies were being hit with it. He kissed her shoulders, still tasting a little bit of the suds, “I should be hurt that my physical attraction for you offends, Clarice. Should I apologize for finding your body as enticing as your mind?” The Doctor ran his hands up her sides and grabbed her breasts. He kneaded them gently with the tips of his fingers before grabbing the now peaked nipples. The warm water made them extra pink and extra sensitive. He twisted them causing Clarice to moan and lean her upper body against his chest and shoulder.

“I guess I better stop and lather your washcloth instead, would not want to get you aroused when you just want to shower,” he let go of her nipples and turned to grab a washcloth.

Clarice turned around pushing herself up against him, his semi-erect organ pushing into her thigh. She wrapped her arms around his neck, “I don’t think so, Doctor. There’s a reason you got the executive suite with a bathtub with more than enough room for two.” 

She leaned over and kissed him, her open mouth begging for his. She did not have to wait long as he opened his, biting her lower lip before his tongue playfully found its way into her mouth. The Doctor ran his hands down her curves, grabbing her buttock pulling the cheeks slightly apart, then letting them come back together, water splashing off of them. Clarice’s hands found Hannibal’s chest running her fingers through his chest hair, an equal mixture of grey and black. Every time she pushed it up the water pushed it back down. One hand holding firm to her behind, he brought the other between her legs gently rubbing back and forth between the these lips noting the different in thickness between the two types of wetness. Starling moaned into his lips before pulling away, leaning back against the cool tile. It felt good against her flushed body; flushed from arousal and the warm water.

“Turn around, Clarice,” Dr. Lecter whispered a large smile on his face.

She did smiling; her eyes bright. Starling pushed her body flat against those cool, soothing tiles. She stood up on tip toe on that slip resistant mat; only spreading her legs slightly knowing in this position Hannibal’s initial penetration would be tight. They moaned simultaneously the moment The Good Doctor worked in the tip of his cock. Once all the way in both were still for a minute allowing Clarice to adjust to such a tight angle. 

Clarice looked over her shoulder, “I should have known why you requested such a ridiculously large slip resistant mat.” She squeezed her cunt around Hannibal’s cock and he groaned. He finally started pushing in and out, his movements splashing around water from the shower head.

*******

A few floors down in the same hotel, Ardelia walked out of their suite room’s bathroom in a white fuzzy complimentary robe. She smiled at her husband, laying on their king sized bed in his. “So, Ted when are we going to behave like real Newlyweds and use that bathtub hot tub?” She flopped down beside him and he pulled her into his arms. “I know we’ve been living together for two years but this is our honeymoon. We should be in that hot tub on top of having lots of loud, hot sex?” 

“Hey now, we had sex last night.”

“But I don’t think it was loud enough to wake the people in the room next door.”

Ted leered at his wife, “Well, we’ll just have to try again tonight.”

“What about right now?” Ardelia pushed open her husband’s robe and ran her fingers up the inside of his thigh.

He grabbed her wrist, “Because I ordered room service for dinner while you were in the shower. And I got us a little somethin’ somethin’ extra so we can have some fun after dinner. Granted we might need another shower, but that would be a great time to try out the hot tub. And I figured out how to order French porn off the paid pre-view.”

Ardelia wiggled her upper body and smiled as she leaned into Ted, “Mmm, Mr. Jacobs, it’s a shame I left my handcuffs at home.”


	3. A Haunting Word

Ardelia and Ted walked into the lobby of the hotel their feet a little sore from seeing several of Nice’s cathedrals throughout the day. 

“My grandmother was a religious woman and even though she wasn’t Catholic, I felt a connection with her today. And if I wasn’t so jaded I just might have found Jesus again.” Ardelia let go of her husband’s hand, “I’m going to ask the concierge for a dinner recommendation.” 

She left Ted standing near some chairs in the lobby as she headed towards the counter. He heard the ding of the elevator and turned his head to people watch. A sharp dressed couple exited and walked through the lobby almost in slow motion. He was in a well-tailored tux, his salt and peppered hair slicked back; he was definitely older than the woman who hung on his arm but was a vain man, signs of either botox or plastic surgery on his face. Her beauty demanded attention; the hemline of her coral colored dress swirling about her ankles, matching diamond earrings and necklace reflected the overhead lights. There was something unnatural about the beauty mark on her cheek and her blonde hair was obviously dyed but Ted could not help but stare. 

_The woman on the beach! Who is she? Why can’t I place her? Where the Hell would I know such a fancy woman from?_ His eyes followed the handsome couple until they exited the front door. He then walked up to the front desk, interrupting his wife, “Excuse me, sir but that couple who just walked by…where were they going so dressed up?”

“Ted!” Ardelia snapped.

“Just curious in case I want to take my lovely new bride here somewhere like that,” he wrapped his arm around Ardelia’s waist.

“They are going to the opera,” The concierge replied. “He had me call for a car a little while ago. Though I believe Mousier would have had to reserve tickets months in advance for that.”

*******

_Opera._ The word burned in Ardelia’s mind as she dug to the bottom of her jewelry bag and pulled out the emerald ring. She tilted it so she could see the engraved initials _AM-CS._ She closed her eyes and sighed as she slid it on her right ring finger:

_Mapp opened the door to their duplex and huffed vexed the moment she heard the dreaded music coming from Starling’s bedroom. She walked through the woman’s slightly barren living room to reach her bedroom. She didn’t bother knocking, “I swear to God, Clarice if I come home one more time and you are listening to this…”_

_Clarice jumped towards the end of her bed, like a guilty child trying to collect everything that was spread out on her quilt but it was too late. Mapp’s eyes widened at the site, photos of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, not just his mug shots or incarceration photos, but old photos of him from fundraisers and dinners before he was caught. She walked over to the stereo and stopped the CD, “What the Hell are you doing, Clarice?”_

_“Working on my case,” Clarice’s hair shielded her face like a curtain as she collected the photos. “What does it look like?”_

_Ardelia crossed her arms, “Honestly, it looks like a teenage girl with a rock star crush. Does Crawford know you’re bringing this stuff home?”_

_“He knows I’m working my case,” Clarice finally turned and looked at her friend. “He knows I understand Dr. Lecter like nobody else and in order to find him, I really need to acquaint myself with the man. The man who wears fine suits, attends fancy dinners and art charities, who listens to opera, who speaks kind words…”_

_While she was talking, Mapp picked up the rest of the file and was looking through it. She found a photo of the crime scene of Tennessee and shoved it in Clarice’s face, “The man who did this, shortly after speaking supposed kind words to you!” She sat down on the bed, on top of a newspaper clipping from the early 1970s. She took Starling’s upper arms into her hands, “I know you’re excited to finally be part of the BAU but you are going down the rabbit hole. Hannibal Lecter is dangerous, didn’t Crawford tell you that when he sent you to interview him all those year ago?”_

_Clarice nodded looking down, “He said I didn’t want Hannibal Lecter inside my head.”_

_“Now promise me, girl you will leave work at work. Don’t blow your shot at the BAU and to get away from fucking Krendler because you got wrapped up in being a serial killer groupie.”_

Ardelia opened her eyes glossy with tears and looked down at the ring. She knew Clarice didn’t have that kind of money. The piece of jewelry this emerald came from was a gift from him. _Serial killer mistress._

Ted came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his lower half. He saw the upset on his wife’s face so he came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, “Is everything okay, baby?”

“You know how you asked where that couple was going? Just promise me you will never take me to the opera. I don’t care how fancy you thought they looked.”


	4. A Casual Couple

Clarice sat cross-legged facing the sea at the café’s outside table, the breeze playing with the hem of her sundress. Occasionally she pushed her floppy hat tighter onto her head as she read the brunch menu. “I would love to go to Usine-Laboratoire Fragonard today,” She looked over her sunglasses and smiled at The Doctor. “That is if that nose of yours can handle it.”

“What do you mean that nose of mine?” Hannibal pulled his right foot out of his boat shoe and ran it up Clarice’s leg that was planted on the ground. They were gritty with sand from their morning walk on the beach against her smooth leg.

She tilted her head and observed him; his light blue linen shirt, the first three buttons undone exposing the slight tan behind his salt and pepper chest hair. His khaki colored linen slacks, bare feet in boat shoes, his hair wind swept. She reached over and grabbed one of his hands, “You know you’re a completely different man here, Hannibal.”

“Using my real name in public, that’s rather risky, Charlotte,” He caressed her hand with his thumb. “How exactly am I different?”

“More casual, more playful,” she smiled wider. “Should I uncross my legs so that foot can wander further north?”

“Well this is a beach resort vacation, it’s always best to blend in. Besides it is still a vacation and I am enjoying myself. It’s not like the time when I was fleeing Florence and wore a track suit and fanny pack to blend into a sight-seeing tourist group trekking across Europe.”

“No!” Clarice laughed. “You did not tell me about that!”

“It’s why you didn’t find me after Pazzi’s unfortunate accident. Would you really think to look for me in a sight-seeing group?”

Before she could answer they were approached by their waiter.

*******

Ted went down to the front desk while Ardelia was in the shower. What he ordered had arrived and he couldn’t wait to give it to her upon her exiting the shower. He entered the elevator just as a blonde woman, a sun hat on her head and a good sized shopping bag in her hand exclaimed in French, “Hold the door!”

Ted pushed the open door button just and she and her companion a significantly older man in crisp linen boarded. “Thank you,” The man said in French running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair.

“You’re welcome,” Ted responded, his American accent thick.

“Oh you’re American?” The woman responded in English, removing her sunglasses.

Ted’s brown eyes widen. _It’s her! The woman from the beach! The woman going to the opera! This face! Where do I know this face?!?_

“Yes, here on my honeymoon,” He responded smiling scanning her face for every little detail. “What floor?”

“Seven”

“Mine too,” Ted lied as he pushed the button. He had to follow her.

“Congratulations,” The woman’s companion responded. “We’re just here on vacation but it’s always nice in Nice.” He pulled her to his side and kissed her on the cheek.

Ted smiled as he noticed high up on her other cheek a beauty mark, one he had seen so many times. Near polished sliver.

The elevator door opened and they all got out.

“Enjoy your honeymoon!” The woman exclaimed as they went down the hall. 

“Enjoy your vacation!” Ted turned the other direction but watched the handsome couple from the corner of his eye. The further down the hall they got the closer he moved to them. He observed which door closed behind them and quietly plastered himself up next to it. He listened for clues. 

“You smell magnificent.”

“How can you say that? How many perfumes and lotions did I try on in the gift shop? I must be an assault on your olfactory right now.” 

“Well I then I will just have to go where the scent is purely you, hmm, Clarice?” 

_Clarice! Clarice Starling! The woman with Ardelia in her FBI Academy graduation photo in the polished silver frame on the fire place mantel! Her best friend who disappeared during the Hannibal Lecter case! This is who this woman looks like! No this is who this woman has to be but now with blonde hair!_

Ted’s heart pounded against his chest, did he dare listen more?

The voices grew fainter as they moved further away from the door; the woman giggled, nothing audible to the outside, then the faint breathless moans, “Oh Hannibal! Oh God, Hannibal!”

The elevator dinged down the hall. Ted pulled himself away from the door, trembling, he walked back to the elevator. _Did I really learn what my wife has wanted to know for years? She won’t believe this? Should I ruin our honeymoon?_


	5. Dinner Revelation

Ardelia looked down at her husband’s dinner plate and then back at him as he glanced towards the lobby of the hotel from the restaurant. “Ted!” she exclaimed. “You’ve barely touched your food and you’ve been distant all evening. What’s wrong?”

He looked at his wife for a brief second before scanning the lobby again. “I don’t know if you’d believe me, baby.”

Ardelia arched an eyebrow as she sat her fork down, “So we’ve been together all this time and you wait till our honeymoon to tell me you don’t think I'd believe you?”

“No…no…it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m just worried it will upset you and I don’t want to upset you on our honeymoon.”

“Well I’m annoyed now,” Ardelia crossed her arms. “Might as well clear the air.”

Ted closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them, “I’ve seen your friend Clarice Starling here.”

Ardelia’s eyes widen at the name. It was a name Ted never said or brought up in conversation without her starting it. She shook her head, “No. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You never met Clarice.”

“True but I see her picture every day in our house! Standing next to you at your FBI Academy graduation, both of you all smiles. You told me how she got that gunpowder mark on her cheek.” Ted pounded his hand on the table. “She’s here and she still has it! She’s dyed her hair blonde and she’s with a significantly older man. I followed them earlier so sure it was her.”

“Please don’t tell me his name,” Ardelia gripped the table. She felt her heart beating faster. She had her suspicions and assumptions but to have it confirmed…

“I know what room they are in,” Ted reach over and took his wife’s hand into his, caressing it. “Did you want to go and prove me wrong?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. The words from Clarice’s letter ran through her mind: _"I am fine and better than fine. Don’t look for me. I love you. I’m sorry I scared you. Burn this. Starling."_

The longer she reflected on the words Ardelia grew angry. _What kind of note is that for your best friend? You run out to save an internationally wanted fugitive from being murdered and then just disappear only to give this sorry ass of an explanation? Well I didn’t look for you, Clarice but it looks like old friends are together again._

“Yes, Ted, tell me the room number. I want to go after we finish dinner.”


	6. Confirmation

Clarice slipped her flip flops on, plopped her sun hat on her head, put on her oversized sunglasses and grabbed the small tote with her room key, sunscreen and book before heading out the room. Her open kimono brushed her thighs as she walked down the hall towards the elevator. She was off to enjoy an evening swim at the pool. Hannibal was to join her after his massage and treatment at the resort spa. She smiled to herself at the idea of Dr. Lecter in a mud mask so shortly after he had his collagen injections. She heard the ding of the elevator from around the corner and walked a bit faster only to be greeted by a Black couple turning the corner. 

“Excuse me,” Clarice spoke quickly in French passing by the couple.

The black woman turned her head noticing a peculiar beauty mark on the bikini wearing woman. Her heart skipped a beat. _That mark! The voice! The fact Ted said this was the floor he said he saw her on._

Ardelia let go of her husband’s hand and spun around, “Clarice! Clarice Starling!”

Clarice was turning the corner when she heard her name, her actual name, off the lips of someone other than Hannibal’s. She paused for a second because it wasn’t only her name, but she knew the voice.

“Don’t act like you didn’t hear me, Starling,” Ardelia walked up back up the hall. “You still haven’t lost that accent, not even when speaking in French.”

Clarice frantically pushed the down button again, but it was too late she had been caught.

“I told you not to look for me,” Clarice's voice trembled as she spoke. She looked forward, scared to face her old friend.

“I didn’t,” Ardelia stood beside her shoulder to shoulder. 

“Then why are you here?”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Clarice stepped forward to step in but was stopped by Ardelia grabbing her arm and pulling her back. Clarice lost her footing and fumbling was forced to turn and face her old friend.

“Where is he? How could you?”

Clarice adjusted her kimono which had fallen off her shoulder. She signed as she took off her sunglasses. “I said everything I possibly could in the letter I sent you, Dee. I don’t know why you tracked me down…”

“She didn’t track you down,” Ted spoke up from his observation point. “We’re here on our honeymoon. I saw you around and recognized you from the photo she has of the two of you together in our house.”

Starling turned and looked at the man and then back at Ardelia, “Oh Dee I’m so happy for you! But now finding me has put a damper on things.”

“I’m still FBI, I can have you arrested.”

“For what? I’m just a missing person.”

“For aiding and abiding a fugitive. Where is his, Clarice?”

The other elevator dinged, the doors opened and some people got off bringing the women’s conversation to a pause. 

“Where is he, Clarice?” Ardelia repeated her question. “I know you’re not here alone, Ted saw you with a man.”

“Don’t do this, Dee,” Clarice stepped back from her friend. She pushed the down button again. “This is not how you want to remember me, remember our friendship.”

“Our friendship? You get no say in that. I was so worried about you and all I get is a note saying sorry you scared me, that you were ‘better than fine,’ don’t look for you and an emerald with our initials engraved in it? I thought I was worth more than that.”

“You were…you are…” Clarice felt tears in her eyes. “But our lives went two separate ways, Dee, even before I disappeared. I don’t expect you to ever understand the choices I made.” 

The elevator doors opened again and again Ardelia reached for her old friend. Except this time, Ted grabbed his wife.

“Let her go, Ardelia, let her go!”

The elevator door closed with Clarice inside and went down.

“No, Ted! No!” Ardelia flung her fists at her husband’s chest. “You were the one who saw her! Asked if I wanted to see her!”

Ted held his wife’s wrist keeping her restrained, “Yes but…but…look at yourself!” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “You told me she disappeared, was probably kidnapped by Dr. Lecter and now I hear from her she contacted you, that she’s with him of her own free will and happy.”

“Don’t say that, Ted!” Ardelia exclaimed “Hannibal Lecter is a monster. He has done something to her.” She pulled away from her husband and walked back down the hall.

Clarice Starling’s heart pounded as she pushed all the buttons in the elevator. She got off on the next floor, and ran down the hallway to the stairs. She ran up the flight of stairs back to her floor, however she was cut off at her door.

“I knew you wouldn’t go all the way down,” Ardelia leaned against the room door. “I figured you’d sneak back around, grab a few things, go fade into the night with Dr. Lecter.”

“I forgot my cell phone,” Clarice pulled her room key card out of her bag. “I don’t know what you want from me, Dee. I’m just a woman who left and started her life over. I’m sorry you had to meet me here on your honeymoon.”

“Are you really telling me Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter just let you go? I saw what went on in that house.”

“He gave me a choice. He refused to keep me if I did not love him.”

Ardelia crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared long and hard at her old friend, “Wait so you’re trying to tell me this psychopath killer went all Beauty and the Beast and just let you go?”

“Yes.”

“And you just decided to walk away from your life and scare those who care about you?”

“What was left for me, Dee? My career was dead and I knew if I went back everyone would accuse me of aiding him, like you are now. And you were all I had left of people who cared about me. I needed a fresh start.”

“What about the guy I saw you with here?” Ted spoke up.

Clarice smiled, “Can’t a girl take a vacation and meet a guy and hook up with him?”

“That was never your thing, Clarice.”

“You only live once and after all I’ve been through, sometimes a little fun is needed. I am sorry you had to run into me on your honeymoon, but I wish you nothing but the best, Ardelia. Don’t worry about me. I will be alright.” Clarice smiled sadly at her old friend as she unlocked her hotel room door. 

She slammed the door shut quickly, closing over the chain lock. 

Ardelia stood there for a minute, before Ted put his hand on her shoulder.

“You can’t stand here outside her room. She’s a private citizen, you don’t have jurisdiction here or enough proof to get the French Police involved.”

“She was my best friend, Ted,” There were tears in her eyes. “And I’m an FBI Agent. I know she’s lying. I know she’s protecting him.”

Ted held her hand tight as they walked towards the elevator, “I’m sorry I even mentioned this.”

“Don’t be. I at least know she’s still alive.” She pushed the floor button to return to their room. “And there’s nothing stopping me from calling the office and tracing her as a person of interest. According to what she said, she was the last one to see Lecter alive. I won’t be able to keep that information silent.”

“As you wish.”

Behind that slammed and locked hotel room, Clarice Starling listened till she heard no more talking or footsteps. She frantically grabbed her phone and hit the familiar speed number.

“Hello?”

“Charlotte is dead," She closed the cell phone hanging it up.


	7. Hindsight

Ardelia now sat in one of the basement offices of the BAU with the new director, Dr. Nancy Miller, watching security tapes from her honeymoon hotel in Nice. Dr. Miller kept the tapes on fast forward waiting for Ardelia to yell stop. 

“I know I wasn’t what you were expecting when they sent you down to meet Dr. Miller. Most people don’t know the amount of consultation Crawford did with me in the early 90s. I was barely an associate professor. He talked to me a lot about Starling. How he thought he made a huge mistake with her. She was good, too good. ‘Better than Will Graham. She stared down Lecter, Nancy and didn’t bat an eye.’ I often think they tapped me to fill Crawford’s place to clean up this whole Starling shitstorm, no offense to your friend. She sure exposed our skeletons. He was so fond of her and it’s true he felt responsible for her. To know Starling is willingly Lecter’s lover would kill him, if he wasn’t already dead. He should have seen that coming a mile away, but his affection for her and his final days in Bureau were not his finest.”

The first tape came to an end. She stopped it and removed it. Ardelia took a good look at the woman’s blonde bob, high collar blouse and A-Line skirt as she put in a new tape. She was right, that was not what Dee was expecting from a Dr. Miller. 

“Also, I personally, want to thank you for calling Interpol as soon as you finished talking to her, Agent Mapp. I’m sorry it ruined your honeymoon, but dedication to justice like that is what the Bureau prides itself on.” 

Ardelia listened to the woman her eyes not leaving the screen. She knew it was part of the job but the woman’s cold remoteness about the whole thing agitated her. The thought was quickly thrown aside in a blink of the screen, “Stop!”

Dr. Miller paused the tape and in focus on the screen was the familiar couple in the lobby going to the opera. Except only catching them from her sideview while at the counter, Ardelia now saw them in full front view on the security tape. There was Clarice in a beautiful coral evening gown, an older man on her arm. 

Ardelia sighed heartbroken, a knot in her stomach, “That’s Clarice. And I’m almost positive the man is Lecter.”

“Almost positive?”

“She told me she was alone that she had no clue where Lecter was but I knew she had to be lying. Lecter is a man of disguises. He’s probably had more plastic surgery since.” Ardelia turned and grabbed a folder off the desk and opened it exposing photos of The Doctor, “See here’s his mugshot from his initial arrest. And here are the best photos of him we got from surveillance cameras from his time in Florence and in Maryland in 1996, the last time we’ve seen him.”

Nancy held the mug shot and one of the photos side by side, up against the screen, “You can see the major changes in his cheeks and the smoothing of his brow. Interesting how he didn’t change his nose, that would be the quickest way to alter his face. I haven’t looked much at his file, but from his flare for cooking he probably didn’t want to risk damage to his olfactory.”

Dr. Miller looked at Dee intensely, “Looks like I’ll be getting back in contact with the hotel. And I’ll have one of my agents keep you informed. Thank you again for your help, Agent Mapp.”

“That’s it? You don’t want my help on the case?”

“Not in a professional sense, we’ll probably ask you a lot about your old friend but that’s it. We’re going to be profiling Starling. If seeing her in Nice was upsetting what we’re going to come up about her will be too.”

“I understand.” Ardelia left the basement office and headed down the hall to the elevator. The knot in her stomach would not go away. 

_“Why do you have so many nice dresses? And can I borrow one?” Ardelia stood in front of Clarice’s open closet._

_“Wishful thinking,” Clarice replied. “I have always wanted nice dresses to go to nice places; like a fancy dinner and then the theatre. Maybe an art gallery. And now that I have the money. I’ve gone once or twice alone…I’m just waiting for the right guy.”_

_Ardelia removed one of the dresses from rack and held it up to herself, “No, what you’re doing is being too picky. Didn’t Noble take you to any of those places? You two were together for a year.”_

_“I tried…” Clarice brought her hands up and felt the fine fabric. “He just didn’t appreciate it like I did.”_

_“What you need to do is put one of these one dresses on, one with a low neck and we’ll go out. You’re not going to meet anyone if you don’t get out.”_

_Clarice smiled sadly at her friend, “I’m not being picky. Is it so wrong to have a little taste?”_

Ardelia pushed the elevator button. She now realized Starling was gone before she even received that second letter from Lecter.


	8. Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know lots of you have been anxiously awaiting for a long time for new chapters for this fic. Hopefully two back to back will be worth it. I also finally have an actual end for this piece in mind a 100 times better than I originally planned so you'll be getting that soon. You guys who have been reading me for years are the bestest and all my new readers are great too! Leave comments, I love them and I'm trying to get better at responding.

She ran her hand over the chest of drawers, it was a beautiful antique piece, no doubt recently restored. The whole room actually, one of the few rooms restored since they didn’t need many and he handpicked this room. She opened one of the dresser drawers and removed a soft pair of long sleeved pink and white pinstriped pajamas. Clarice Starling had always been adjustable and she found she needed extra warmth living behind the stone walls of Castle Lecter at night. During the summer days, the old stone walls kept the rooms a perfectly agreeable temperature. But night there was always a nip in the air. Once in her pajamas and bunny slippers she poked at the fire, added a log before crawling under the covers of the bed. However, she had not quite yet adjusted to sleeping in a place rich in Hannibal’s history without him in the bed, especially this room, his mother’s room. 

Starling looked out the window as a tear rolled down her cheek. She hadn’t spoke or seen him in over a week. _It’s part of the plan, Clarice. It’s for our own good. Separated to create diversions and false leads; meet at here at our safehouse. The long-forgotten Lecter property we acquired under another name._ Running their “spotted” plan over and over in her mind still brought the former agent little comfort. Another tear ran down her cheek and onto the pillow. _No casual contact with each other after we declare our alias dead. If caught we are each other’s one phone call to implement a different plan._

The creak of the opening and closing of a door downstairs jarred Clarice’s out of her thoughts. She sat right up; it was the kitchen door; the only door used to enter and exit. _It was locked…who has keys…me, Hannibal, the maid and butler Hannibal hand selected. Could Hannibal have finally made it? Was he compromised and somebody got his key?_ Clarice slipped on her slippers and briskly walked over to the dresser retrieving her .45 from her pajama drawer. She undid the safety and waited behind the dresser in an old familiar stance. She watched the shadow of light footwork on the floor. 

“Clarice, there is no need for the gun.”

She gasped. His voice! She put the safety back in place before sitting the gun on the dresser and throwing herself into his arms.

“Hannibal!” She whispered burying her face into his chest. “I was so worried.”

He held her tight, “So was I, so was I.”

No other words were spoken. It was lips on lips, fingers frantically tearing away fabric to expose and explore flesh. Hannibal picked up Clarice and tossed her back onto the bed. As she giggled, he removed his shoes and socks before crawling on top of her. She was nude but no longer cold between the stone walls. He ran his hands down her body caressing her breasts, between her thighs sucking on her neck as he felt her fumble with his belt. 

“Let me,” he finally whispered. The Good Doctor sat up briefly to rid himself of his finally pieces of clothing, slacks and underwear. Once they were on the floor, he observed his Starling, flushed and eager. He just the same. Fear and concern melted into pure lust. He spread her legs wide and pushed his cock in. There was nothing gentle in this coupling. It was hard and fast, taking the edge off. Their orgasms quick and intense, they now held each other tight looking into each other’s eyes in what the firelight exposed. 

“So what happened in Nice?” Hannibal asked running his fingers through her hair.

“Ardelia got married and was on her honeymoon in Nice. Her husband recognized me from photos she had. He saw me again and took Ardelia to see me.”

Hannibal sighed deep, his chest rising and falling, Clarice’s head going with it. 

“I told her I was alone. That you let me go because you didn’t want me if I didn’t love you. I left my life on my own accord. I know she didn’t believe but couldn’t prove it. Knowing her she’s gone back and reported everything.”

He rubbed his hand up and down hers, “I am sorry, Clarice.”

“And then being here, surrounded by your past, without you.”

He kissed her forehead, “I am here now. We will stay a bit, let everything calm down. Give the new Countess Lecter a proper introduction to the history of what is now hers.”

“Don’t say that. It sounds archaic.” 

“It’s the truth,” The Good Doctor turned so he was on his side. “I’m the last of my line…unless there is something you need to tell me.”

The Former Agent looked up at him and smacked his chest lightly with her hand, “Oh God no! We both agreed we’re too damaged to bring new life into this world. Especially with our lifestyle and what happened now.”

“Then don’t say enjoying the having a Countess Lecter in this room again sounds archaic,” Hannibal ran his hand softly down the curves of Clarice’s body. “I might have only been a boy when they died, but before the war I remember my parents being happy, affectionate with each other, truly in love. This place was so frigid and soulless as the Communist boy’s school. I’m thrilled to fill it with passion and love again.” 

Clarice smiled large as she pulled Hannibal’s lips to hers, “Well when you word it like that.”

Count and Countess might have been exhausted from the stress of travel and worry but there was little sleeping that night.


	9. The Way Things Are

Special Agent Mapp stood on the side as Dr. Nancy Miller was getting ready to go live with a news conference. The moment Miller started talking Mapp held her breath.

“We are here today with some new information on one of the most notorious cases in the FBI’s history.” She paused, “We have a new information and a confirmed sighting of serial killer Hannibal Lecter. We also have confirmation that former FBI agent Clarice Starling is alive and has been aiding and abetting Lecter since her disappearance. They were spotted three weeks ago in Nice, France posing as husband and wife using the alias as French citizens Roberto and Charlotte Heger. We are working with French authorities and Interpol. Here are some of the enhanced stills from the security tapes. Note Starling has a scar on the top of her one ear and what is considered a beauty mark high on her cheek. There will be detailed pictures of those available. If you see them please contact your local authorities or the FBI tip line that appears on your screen.” 

Dr. Miller shuffled the paperwork on the podium and then spoke again, “I will now take some questions.”

Hands flew up and the room filled with noise. Dr. Miller pointed to a woman.

“You said Starling was with Lecter. She was working his case when she disappeared, was she kidnapped by him?”

“At this point our investigation we believe she is with him willingly. We are treating her as a criminal and not a victim. She was on record as one of the FBI’s most accurate marksmen so she should be considered armed and dangerous.”

Ardelia released her breath and stormed away from the conference. _I know Starling is out and about of her free will. But a criminal? Calling her a criminal on national TV? Calling her a criminal to the world?_ She went outside to get some air. After a few deep breaths she pulled out her cell phone and called her husband.

“Hey babe, are you on the sidelines of the conference?”

“I was.”

“I’m watching it on the TV in the breakroom.”

“I had to get out and get some air.”

“What’s wrong?”

“They are calling Clarice a criminal.”

Ted sighed, “I’m sorry, Dee…but she is.”

Ardelia was silent for a minute. Tears built up in her eyes.

“You came back and reported the information, babe. Hearing it out loud from the head of the BAU must be difficult, it makes it real.”

“You’re right, it does.”

"But you still believe in justice right?"

"Yes."

“Tell you what. I’ll take tomorrow off, you do too. We’ll take a three-day weekend trip. Clear our heads.”

*******

Over the next few weeks, Ardelia took advantage of the FBI’s counselors over her conflicting feeling about Starling. She removed the photos she had up of her and Clarice. She started an herb garden in the backyard. She hosted a dinner party for their friends. Ted insisted on trying new things in the bedroom, new things that made her smile wider. She picked up a new challenging assignment at work. This was her life now and she felt great about it. Clarice made her choice, Ardelia could no longer hold a vigil candle for her. 

She put a pan of cornbread in the oven when Ted came in through the front door. 

“I’m home!” He called. He dropped his stuff on the couch before walking into the kitchen. “I’m glad you’re cooking tonight. I could use some good food.”

“What do you mean? You cook just fine.”

Ted walked over and kissed her before handing her some papers, “Mail for you.”

Ardelia leaned over the island kitchen looking through the mail. She dropped the ads from her favorite stores on the island before coming to a manila envelope. There was no return address and her address was on a typed-up label. She opened it and recognized the writing immediately. 

_Dee,_

_I know you kept my first note and the ring secret. But our fateful meeting in Nice, I knew you would report it because you remain a righteous person, unable to see morality in shades of grey. I do not hold it against you. I knew you did not believe a single word I said._

_We stay informed and came across a news report about us. Let Dr. Miller know she is correct, I am with Hannibal of my own accord. We have solace, happiness and above all love with each other. I don’t expect you to understand.  
Those stills from the security camera do not do us justice. The FBI will find the enclosed photos much clearer. They might not be much help though, we will no longer look like that._

_Take care, Dee. I hope your marriage brings you all the love and happiness the way mine has. I'm sorry things had to be this way._

_Clarice Starling_

She dropped the letter to expose a photo that was a close up of Clarice and Hannibal standing side by side in front of a white wall facing forward. They were smiling. She shuffled it to the back, to reveal the next photo same set up except they were turned to the side, still smiling. _They made their own mug shots._ She flipped again her hands shaking. This time they were in in an embrace, looking at each other, their eyes sparkling, their smiles wider. Ardelia could see the love, feel the love. She was reminded of her own wedding photos. Her stomach turned. _He’s a monster, he shouldn’t be able to look like that._ She shuffled again, a photo of them kissing, a passionate kiss. She shuffled past it quick feeling herself gag, thankfully finding herself back at the beginning.

She dropped the photos onto the island. “Ted,” she whispered.

He turned around from the fridge, a glass of water in hand, “Yeah?”

Ardelia looked at him intensely before looking down at the pile.

Ted sat his glass down and picked up the note and photos. He flipped through them before dropping them down in disgust. He took Ardelia into his arms. 

_I'm sorry too, Clarice._


End file.
